Get to
know the Matao
By Jill Espiritu
Guam's team is known as the "Matao". Matao, in the
local language Chamorro, refers to the highest class of indigenous people in
ancient Chamorro society. The island's top warriors, chiefs, fishermen, and later,
iron workers were generally from the Matao. Matao was chosen for the Guam men's
national team because it suggests strength, pride, nobility, and leadership, a
few ideals and values representative of the team.
The team is fairly young, although a good mix of players who
have international playing experience. Many of the team members also have played
or currently play for U.S. colleges.
Gary White, Guam's new head coach, started working with the team
in February this year. White, or the "Gaffer" as the team calls him, originally
is from England, and has coached the national teams in the British Virgin
Islands and the Bahamas. In the Bahamas, he helped the team move up 55 places
in FIFA rankings.
The team is preparing for the upcoming East Asian Football Championships.
The preliminary round is in Guam July 17 - 23. Guam won in 2009, and some of
the team members from then also are on this team going to the Philippines.
Guam's national teams have started wearing Diadora gear through
a partnership with the brand's American distributor. Two of the Matao, Jason
Cunliffe and Ian Mariano, are featured on the www.diadorasoccer.com
Web site under Pro Players. The URLs are:
Ian Mariano is 1/4 Filipino. If I'm not mistaken, other players
with some Filipino blood include Christian Schweizer (also one of the youngest
players at 17), Ian Adamos, and Randy Espinosa. Former national team captain,
Dominic Gadia, who now is an assistant coach for the Matao, is Filipino.
None of the Matao are professional soccer players with the
exception of Jonahan Romero, who plays for Kaya FC in the Philippines. The others
are either students or have full-time jobs. After the June 12 match against the
Azkals, the Matao will play training matches with Global FC and the Stallions -
Division I teams in the UFL.
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Super thanks, Jill, for coming through with this! Good luck to the Matao.
"Matao was chosen for the Guam men's national team because it suggests strength, pride, nobility, and leadership, a few ideals and values representative of the team."
ReplyDeletehah! yet here we are with frickin street dogs for the men and malditas or should i say bitches for the women. ya... very nationalistic and something to be very proud of isn't it? lol